Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine

Pyrite was first discovered in 1889, near where Quantico Creek meets the South Fork Quantico Creek.

Mining operations were limited from 1889 to 1908. In 1908, the Cabin Branch Mining Company was formed. In 1916, the mine was bought by the American Agricultural Chemical Company. When the United States entered World War I in 1918, the price of pyrite skyrocketed because of the demand for sulfur.

After the war, the price of pyrite dropped. Nationwide, in many industries, workers struck. While there was no union activity, workers at the Cabin Branch Mine struck in 1920.

The mine was subsequently abandoned; some of the buildings stood until the 1930s.